A Tragic Shift Just One Year Has Made in the United States
In late October 2024, the landscape was utterly different. Prior to the national election, reflective citizens could acknowledge the nation's deep flaws – its unfairness and inequality – however they continued to perceive it as the US. A democratic nation. A place where constitutional order carried weight. A country guided by a dignified and ethical leader, notwithstanding his elderly years and declining health.
Nowadays, this autumn, many of us scarcely know the country we live in. Individuals believed to be undocumented migrants are detained and forced into transport, occasionally denied due process. The eastern section of the White House – is undergoing demolition to build a lavish ballroom. Donald Trump is persecuting his adversaries or alleged foes and insisting the justice department surrender a huge total of public funds. Uniformed troops are being sent into American cities on false pretexts. The military command, relabeled the Defense Ministry, has – in effect – liberated itself of routine media oversight while it uses possibly reaching nearly $1tn in public funds. Colleges, attorney offices, journalism organizations are submitting due to presidential intimidation, and wealthy elites are treated like members of the royal family.
“The US, just months before its 250th birthday as the world’s leading democracy, has crossed the brink into autocracy and extremism,” Garrett Graff, commented in August. “In the end, faster than I imagined possible, it transpired in this country.”
Every morning starts to new horrors. It is hard to comprehend – and distressing to accept – just how far gone we are, and the speed at which it has happened.
However, we know that Trump was legitimately chosen. Even after his highly troubling initial presidency and despite the warnings that came with the understanding of the rightwing blueprint – following the president personally declared plainly he would act as an autocrat only on the first day – enough Americans selected him rather than his Democratic opponent.
As terrifying as today's circumstances are, it's more frightening to understand that we are just several months into this administration. What will three more years of this downfall find us? And what if that period transforms into a more extended duration, as there is not anyone to limit this leader from deciding that additional tenure is required, possibly for security concerns?
Granted, there is still hope. There are midterm elections next year that may establish an alternate political equilibrium, in case Democrats retake either chamber of Congress. There are elected officials who are attempting to apply some accountability, like representatives who are starting a probe regarding the effort to cash appropriation from the justice department.
And a national vote in the next cycle could start our journey toward restoration just as the prior selection set us on this disappointing trajectory.
There exist countless citizens demonstrating in the streets throughout communities, as they did in the past days at democracy demonstrations.
An ex-cabinet member, commented this week that “the great sleeping giant of America is stirring”, exactly as before following the Red Scare in that decade or during the Vietnam war protests or during the Nixon controversy.
During those times, the unstable nation eventually was righted.
The author states he understands the signals of that awakening and notices it unfolding now. As evidence, he points to the large-scale demonstrations, the extensive, cross-party resistance against a broadcaster's firing and the largely united rejection by reporters to agree to military mandates they solely cover authorized information.
“The sleeping giant perpetually exists dormant till specific greed becomes so noxious, an specific act so contemptuous of the common good, certain violence so loud, that the giant has no choice except to rise.”
It's a hopeful perspective, and I respect his knowledgeable stance. Perhaps he will prove to be right.
In the meantime, the major inquiries persist: can America ever recover? Can it retrieve its status in the world and its devotion to the rule of law?
Or do we need to admit that the historical project worked for a while, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?
My negative thoughts indicates that the final scenario is correct; that everything might be gone. My optimistic spirit, though, tells me that we need to strive, in whatever ways available.
Personally, as a media critic, that means urging journalists to commit, more fully, to their purpose of scrutinizing authority. For some people, it could mean participating in election efforts, or organizing rallies, or finding ways to safeguard electoral access.
Not even one year prior, we existed in a very different place. A year from now? Or after another term? The reality is, we don’t know. The only option is to attempt to persevere.
What Offers Me Encouragement Today
The interaction I experience in the classroom with aspiring reporters, who are both idealistic and realistic, {always
